The Good, The Bad, and the Marauders
by dragongoddess13
Summary: A series of out of order, short drabbles based on prompts from Tumblr and submissions to my ask box. Marauders Era.
1. Fight Me

The Good, The Bad and The Marauders

Chapter 1: Fight Me

A/N: This is my first Harry Potter fic ever. It's been quite awhile since I was in the HP fandom and I'm rereading the books now, so please bare with me if somethings seem off. Feed back would be appreciated.

 **First Prompt:**  
 **"I'm fighting this person and they shoved me into u I'm so sorry- oh hey you're cute- OH MY GOD UR KICKING ASS MARRY ME! PLEASE!"**

xXx

"Take that blood traitor!" Avery laughed as Sirius stumbled back knocking into a body behind him. Avery and his little gang of Slytherins laughed harder as Sirius turned to see who he'd fallen into. Whiskey brown eyes stared down at him before turning a fierce glare on his aggressors. "Awe look at that, how perfect a mudblood would break your fall, Black."

"What did you say?" James growled. He and Remus had taken up position in front of him, stopping anyone from trying to strike while Sirius was down.

"You heard me Potter." he replied with a smirk. Sirius got to his feet then, putting himself between the young woman and the small group of Slytherins. The young woman in question was Hermione Granger, quiet and scary smart. She was friends with James' crush Lily Evans and until today he'd barely interacted with her. "Defending a filthy little mudblood, no wonder your mother disowned you." Avery continued.

Sirius stepped forward ready with a scathing comeback when caught sight of Hermione out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head just in time to see her shove the rather large stack of books at him, barely giving him enough time to catch them before storming up to Avery. He and his gang were laughing, clearly amused by the small girl. Without warning she cut off his laughter with a fist to the nose, taking him by surprise and knocking him to the ground.

Silence followed the surprised exclamations around them and Hermione leaned toward where Avery was lying, holding his nose as blood gushed from it. "I may be a "filthy little mudblood" but at least I'm not inbred trash."

With that she stood straight and turned on her heels stopping in front of Sirius and reaching for her books. Sirius' grin was blinding. "Sirius Black." he introduced himself.

"Good for you." she replied taking back her books and walking away without a second glance.

The small group of transgressors cleared out and the spectators dissipated, leaving Sirius, Remus and James. As James and Remus came to stand beside their friend, Sirius looked back at where Hermione had disappeared.

"I think I'm in love."


	2. Alone Time Part I

The Good, The Bad and The Marauders

Chapter 2: Alone Time Part I

So these were all supposed to be kind of cutesy and funny, but this one came out a little heavier than I intended.

This takes place December of their third year

 **Second Prompt:** **"I'm going to need you to put on some underwear before you say anything else."**

xXx

"I can explain."

"I'm going to need you to put on some underwear before you say anything else." Hermione replied looking anywhere but at the very naked man standing before her. This was not at all how she thought her winter break would go. In all honesty she was looking forward to being the only Gryffindor left behind (her parents having decided to head to America to visit some friends), but of course Sirius Black decided to put a damper on her plans for peace and solitude.

"Right." he muttered his eyes searching the floor of the common room until they landed on the neatly folded pile of clothing. He snatched up his underwear and trousers, slipping them on while she turned her back on him. "Okay, it's safe."

"I doubt that." she said under her breath turning to face him. She froze when she noticed he was still shirtless and she willed the heat in her cheeks to go away.

Sirius Black was a royal pain in her ass. For three years he barely spoke to her, if at all and while he was never rude, it was obvious they weren't really friends. Just housemates, acquaintances. But ever since Hermione had shown Avery exactly what a "Mudblood" was capable of, he wouldn't leave her alone. Everytime she turned around there he was. At the table in the great hall, in the library when she was trying to study, in the common room when she was spending time with Lily and Alice. It was like all of a sudden he'd noticed her and while on some level she supposed she was flattered, she really just wanted him to get over it like he did all the girls he showed interest in and move on.

Of course that didn't seem to be happening any time soon. A fact she became all too aware of when she found out through Lily that Sirius was planning on staying behind for the Christmas holiday instead of going home with James like he normally would. When her parents had owled to let her know they were going to America for the break and that she was welcome to come or stay she had seen the opportunity to put a dent in some personal goals and elected to stay at school. Even when Lily invited her to come home with her, she still decided to stay. The peace and quiet would allow her the opportunity to put a big dent in her personal reading list and to get a jump start on the homework for the rest of the term which would in turn give her more free time after classes later in the year, something she would desperately need as the stress always seemed to pile on near the end of term.

Her parents had sent her, her gifts, there was a tree decorated quite nicely in the common room and there was plenty of treats and delicious food to make it feel just like a normal Christmas.

Hermione crossed her arms and huffed. "What possible reason could you have for being naked in the common room?" she asked, not entirely sure she wanted the answer.

"Well, you see, I was out for a stroll not long ago and I had a bit of a fall. My clothes got wet and I assumed you'd be in the library and I'd have enough time to undress, dry them and redress again.

For a boy who was always getting into trouble he certainly was a terrible liar. "You're the only boy in the dormitory why not change upstairs?"

"Like I said, I thought you'd be in the library. You're always in the library."

"I like the library. It's quiet." she said the last part rather pointedly and there was no mistaking, at least for Sirius, exactly what she meant. From the first full day they'd spent alone, Sirius had gone out of his way to spend time with her. He'd tried to convince her that sitting around for nearly four weeks was a waste of perfectly good free time and that they could find loads of things to do that were even better than what she had planned. She of course wanted nothing to do with any of his suggestions or him for that matter.

For the first full week he tried his hardest, but the more he tried the shorter her patience got and by the time the second week started Sirius had all but given up. He sighed.

"I don't understand you at all Granger." he told her. "You would rather sit inside with your nose in a book rather than out interacting with people."

"You're right, you don't understand me. And it would behoove you to remember that fact." she snapped irritated.

"What is your problem?" Sirius asked his own temper flaring up.

"My problem? What about your problem? Why can't you just leave me alone?" she yelled.

"Why are you so hell bent on being alone? Are your books really so much better than people?" Sirius snapped yelling right back.

"Books don't let you down!" she screamed. "They don't abandon you, or call you names or make you feel inferior because of where you come from!"

Sirius took a step back not expecting that answer or the vortex of emotions in her whiskey colored eyes. He wanted to hit himself. He should have seen it before. She'd been all too quick to throw that punch at Avery the month prior. Clearly what he thought she let roll off her shoulders all this time had hurt her more than any of them realized.

The anger was slowly slipping off her face as she caught her breath and she looked away the shine of unshed tears catching in the fire light. "Hermione." he started taking a step toward her. She put out her hand to stop him, stepping back.

"Don't." she told him before turning and heading back out through the painting. Sirius watched dejectedly at her retreating back.


	3. Alone Time Part II

The Good, The Bad and The Marauders

Chapter 3: Alone Time Part II

This takes place December of their third year

 **Third Prompt: I'm in the library and I really need that book can you get it for me?**

xXx

He found Hermione in the library, of course. As if he actually expected her to be anywhere else. She was near the back of the stacks, trying to grab a book her short stature kept just out of her reach and Sirius debated whether he should even approach her after what had happened in the common room. He watched her struggle for only a moment longer before he decided he couldn't leave it alone. He walked up behind her, reaching over her and pulling the book from the shelf. When he came back to his normal stature he found her looking anywhere but at him.

"Here you go." he said gaining her attention and holding the book out to her. She looked at the book but wouldn't meet his eye as she took it. Sirius sighed. He wanted to say something, anything. Maybe something reassuring, that she wasn't alone, that what people like Avery thought of her said more about them than it did her, but he couldn't make the words come out. Instead he said;

"Do you want to know why I was naked?"

Hermione huffed look up at him incredulously. Incredulous or not, he was just happy she was making eye contact.

"Sure why not." she replied and Sirius grinned.

"Do you have your cloak?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's on the table." she replied confused pointing out of the stacks.

"Good, grab it and follow Me." he told her letting her walk out before him. She grabbed her cloak off one of the tables, and then followed Sirius out of the library and through the castle until they came to the Whomping Willow. Sirius darted beneath the swinging branches and pushed on the knot in the trunk to calm the angry tree. He then ushered Hermione into the tunnel beneath the tree leading her up into the old house she immediately recognized as the Shrieking Shack.

"There's a tunnel to Hogwarts through the shrieking shack?" she asked in awe looking around the dilapidated structure.

"Yeah, me and the boys come down here to get away sometimes." Sirius explained.

"Alright, but what does this have to do with why you were naked in the middle of the common room?"

"Nothing actually. I wasn't lying about what I told you earlier, I just wasn't telling you the whole truth." he explained.

"Really? And the Shrieking Shack has to do with the whole truth?"

"No, it's just a convenient place to do this without being seen." he told her with a smirk. "Ready?"

"I guess." and no sooner had she replied then Sirius began changing shape. Two legs became four and long black hair turned to shaggy black fur. She gasped. "You're an animagus? A dog?" She asked. She didn't even notice the smile that spread across her face as she knelt before the large black dog, instinctively reaching up and scratching him behind the ears. "How fitting." she added, laughing at the low warning growl he emitted.

Sirius leaned into the hand that was scratching at his ears, enjoying the small comfort she lent him. She smiled down at him. "Definitely like the attention eh?" she teased him and he backed away, reverting to his human form.

"Always." he replied cockily. Hermione smiled looking down at the dusty floor.

"So, why are you telling me this? I mean I assume you're unregistered which could get into a lot of trouble. Why tell me your secret?" she asked confused.

"Because I trust you." he told her. "I don't care where you're from, or how you came to be here. I know that you're a good person and I trust you to do the right thing. No matter if the right thing benefits me in this situation or not."

"So you basically told me all of this to make me feel better?" she asked narrowing her eyes at him. He shrugged.

"Is there really a more noble a reason?"

Hermione stared at him as if trying to see something that wasn't really there. "I don't understand you." she told him softly.

"What's not to understand? I've always believed I'm a rather simple man." he replied. She shook her head.

"But you're not. I've seen you with other girls." she told him. "You flirt with them for a while and then when you get bored you move on."

Sirius smirked. "You've been watching me?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Focus Sirius. Why are you so… hell-bent on getting my attention? There are so many other girls in this school who practically throw themselves at you."

Sirius shrugged. "I guess it started out as a curiosity. I'm not used to girls turning me down, but… I don't know I guess I stopped thinking about it as a challenge at some point." Hermione shook her head.

"There's something wrong with you." she said but it wasn't really an insult so much as a tease. He chuckled.

"So James repeatedly tells me." he replied standing from the floor. He held out a hand to her.

"Why don't we nick some treats from the kitchen and head back to the Common Room to warm up." he suggested and Hermione took his hand and let him pull her back through the tunnel and toward the castle.


	4. There's Nothing Itsy Bitsy About It

The Good, The Bad and The Marauders

Chapter 4: There's Nothing Itsy Bitsy about That Spider

This takes place in March of their third year

 **Fourth Prompt: Heard a scream and thought you were getting killed, but ti was just a spider**

xXx

The blood curdling scream startled Hermione out her thoughts and she looked up from her book to find Lily across the dormitory, eyes wide as she stared at the door. "What was that?" she asked.

Lily shrugged. "Sounded like it came from the Common Room."

"Should we go check it out?"

Lily tore her eyes from the door to look at Hermione. She looked hesitant but straightened up her back and put on a determined look. "Let's go." she said leading the way down the staircase. At the bottom they came out into the Common room, both restraining themselves from laughing at the sight before them.

"What are you two doing?" Hermione asked incredulously. Sirius and James, both of whom were standing on the sofa, their eyes frantically searching the floor, looked up panic stricken.

"Hermione, Lily run!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Don't worry about us, save yourselves!" James added.

The girls shared a look. "What is the matter with you two? We heard you screaming all the way upstairs." Lily told them.

"Spider." James replied.

"Big Spider." Sirius added.

"Enormous."

The girls shared another look before bursting into fits of laughter. "You're kidding right?" Hermione questioned wiping the tears from her eye.

"We would never joke about something like this Mione." Sirius replied desperately. She rolled her eyes at the nickname and prepared to retort when the panic crossed their faces again and they both pointed to a spot on the floor behind them. "Watch out, get out of here it's behind you."

"Oh for Merlin's sake." Hermione complained as she began to turn. "It's just a spid-AHH!" she screeched dashing for the sofa and jumping up in front of Sirius. He caught her, wrapping his arms around her protectively and pulling her as far away as the sofa would allow.

"Just a spider eh?" James questioned.

"That's not a spider, that's a monstrosity!" Hermione exclaimed. "Lily, why are you just standing there. Get away from it."

Lily looked at her three friends skeptically.

"It's really not that big."


	5. Motorcycle

The Good, The Bad and The Marauders

Chapter 5: Motorcycle

I'm always excepting prompts for this story feel free to send them to me here or my tumblr inbox Dragongoddess13 Ask Box

This takes place the summer before fourth year and the April of their fourth year

 **Fifth Prompt: Motorcycle**

xXx

"You bought a motorcycle?" Lily questioned as Sirius ripped off the old drop cloth covering the bike. He was grinning, as he looked it over, thoroughly entranced in the worn black paint.

"Is that what that is?" Hermione questioned confused and Sirius tore his eyes from the metal frame to glare at her.

"Yes, that's what it is." he replied. She shrugged, clearly not affected by his sarcasm.

"Could've fooled me." she replied under her breath as he stood from where he'd been kneeling in front of the bike.

"Alright," he rolled his eyes. "I'll admit it needs some work."

"Some?"

"Yes some, but I'm willing to put the effort in."

"Admirable as that may be, when exactly are you going to have the time to rebuild this thing?" Hermione asked. "We start fourth year in three weeks. I highly doubt you'll have it done by then, especially since you aren't old enough to use magic outside of school."

"I have three weeks until school, nearly four for Christmas break and then there's the spring holiday and next summer as well." Sirius explained.

"Do you even know how to build a motorcycle?" Hermione asked skeptically.

"I've been studying up on it." Sirius shrugged, his mood starting to turn a little sour.

"Is that why you're always rushing to get your homework done? Because you've wasted all your time studying muggle transportation?"

"It's not a waste, it's a valuable skill." he defended, and they could all see, all except Hermione that is, the famous Black temper flaring just beneath the surface.

"You're a wizard Sirius, how is knowing how to fix a motorcycle, useful. You ride a broom for Godric's sake."

"I'm going to enchant it to fly like a broom. And really your one to talk, defending broom travel, you're scared of brooms." he snapped.

"I'm not scared of brooms, I just don't like heights." she snapped back.

"Oh yes, that's much better, my mistake."

"Don't change the subject!" she exclaimed.

"I'm not!"

"Yes you are! So what are you going to do?" she began rather snarkily. "You're going to fix this bike, and then it'll sit here for a year before you're even legally allowed to get a muggle license to drive the muggle way and then wait a whole other year before you can legally enchant it."

"Why the bloody hell not!" he cried. "What's it to you if that's what I do? So what if it sits here for two, ten, twenty years! If that's what I chose to do with it, that's my prerogative!"

"It doesn't affect me, I'm just saying that's a lot of time and money to put into something you can't do anything with for a while!" she screamed.

"HEY!" James' voice cut them off before another round of screaming could commence. They both whipped around to face him.

"What!?"

"If you two are finished flirting, mum says lunch is ready." he told them before turning on his heels and heading toward the house. Remus, Peter and Lily, all looking thoroughly amused turned to follow him.

"We're not flirting!" Sirius called after him. "We're arguing."

James stopped on the top step of the stoop and smiled. "For you two those things are not mutually exclusive."

And with that he led the way into the house, leaving Sirius and Hermione in the driveway. They both looked at each other and Hermione snorted and she started back toward the door.

"Like I would ever flirt with a stubborn, pig headed, mule like you." she told him practically sticking her nose in the air. Sirius smirked his entire demeanor doing a one eighty.

"Oh yeah?" he asked cockily, taking a few steps toward her as he continued. "Well I certainly wouldn't be caught flirting with a frizzy haired, big toothed, smart and gorgeous witch such as yourself either." he watched the expression of indignation fall from her face as he walked passed, stifling a laugh as she tucked her closed lips between her teeth.

"There not that big." she muttered just barely loud enough to hear. "I'm growing into them." she startled as she felt his breath on her ear.

"I know." he whispered sensually under his breath, sending a deep flush across her cheeks. He was so close to her she could feel the heat radiating off of him and she had to crane her neck to look up at him as he stood back to full height. When did he get so much taller than her?

Her eyes caught the movement of his lips and she looked down to find him smirking at her amusedly.

"Arse." she huffed with a scowl as she realized he was silently laughing at her. She brushed passed him, storming away as his laughter became vocal, carrying off behind her.

xXx

The following Spring found the Marauders plus lily and Hermione at the Potter residence once again. For a portion of the week and half they were off Sirius had been mostly absence, telling no one where he was off too and what he was doing while he was away from the house. Then one night he left his room and quietly crept down the hall to Hermione's where he knocked on the door and stepped back waiting for her to answer.

He knew she was awake, he could see the bedside lamp shining from beneath the door so he fully expected her to answer. She did as he expected not a minute later, cracking the door open and looking up at him curiously. "What wrong?" she hushed concerned.

"Get dressed." he told her. Normally he'd be openly ogling her in her shorts and tank top but tonight, he was on a mission.

"Why?" she asked suspicious.

"Just get dressed; I want to show you something. Meet me downstairs when you're done." he told her, leaving her no room to argue as he turned and headed for the stairs. Hermione started after him before shaking her head and stepping back into her room to change.

Hermione found Sirius by the front door a few minutes later and accepted the leather jacket he held out to her. "Where are we going?" she asked, noticing that he was also wearing a leather jacket. He took her by the hand once the jacket was in place and pulled her out the door, never answering her question until they came to a stop in the driveway. The enchanted lights switched on up and down the driveway as they sensed their movements, illuminating the black motorcycle sitting alone on the cobble stone.

As much as Hermione hated to admit it she was rather impressed with Sirius' determination when it came to his bike. He spent all three weeks of the last summer and nearly all of their winter break working on the derelict vehicle, and in no time at all, despite the cursing and the frustration of finding replacement parts, he'd completed the bike before they'd gone back for the second term of the year. She would never say it out loud but it was a gorgeous bike, all black paint and chrome accents and he looked quite handsome sitting astride it.

"What are we doing out here?" she asked hoping that the third time would be the charm. Sirius grinned at her moving to stand in front of her. She watched cautiously as he dug around in the pocket of his jacket before pulling something out. He held it up to her the plastic glinting in the low light. "Is that?"

"My motorcycle license." he told her still grinning, ear to ear. She couldn't help but smile at how giddy he sounded, a little bounce in his step as he backed away toward his bike.

"Is that what you've been doing all week?" she asked. He nodded.

"Had to take a few classes before I could take the test, but here we are. I didn't think I'd be done fixing the bike so soon, so while I was at school I mailed in an application to start classes during Spring Break."

"That's great Sirius I'm happy for you, but what why are we out here?" Hermione asked.

"I wanted you to be the first to go for a ride with me." he told her matter of fact, turning to the bike and throwing a leg over the seat. He looked to her expectantly.

"You want to go for a ride now?" she asked skeptically. He nodded still grinning, holding out one of the helmets to her. She stared at him trying to will herself not to fall for his boyish enthusiasm, but he looked so earnest and she couldn't help but smile lightly at the way his grin widened when she took the helmet and slipped it on. He held out a hand to her and helped her straddle the bike behind him, before showing her where to put her feet and kicking up the kick stand. He backed the bike out of the driveway and onto the road before starting up the bike and taking off down the road.

Hermione wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his back, letting his body shield her from the cold Spring air. With every turn he took she gripped him tighter, disoriented by the new mode of travel. He followed the old roads out of Godric's hollow right into muggle London where he weaved in and out of traffic with the practiced ease of someone who had been riding much longer than he had.

Hermione didn't know how much time had passed before Sirius brought them to a stop at a point overlooking the city, the lights of the buildings and streetlamps twinkling in the distance below them.

"It's beautiful." she told him, standing at the metal guard rail. She was rubbing her arms, trying to work some heat back into her limbs as she stood there looking out over the city with a serene look on her face. She felt his warmth before she felt his physical touch as he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and rubbing his hands up and down her arms.

"Sorry, I should have gotten you a warmer jacket." he said completely oblivious to the way she tensed in his embrace.

"It's okay, I'm okay." she told him softly, and despite the little voice in her head telling her to pull away she stayed there, letting him keep her warm as a breeze blew in.


	6. Fire Whiskey

The Good, The Bad and The Marauders

Chapter 6: Fire Whiskey

Takes place November of Fourth year

 **Fifth Prompt: Prompt from Holieshka: Here is a prompt for The Good, The Bad and The Mauraders: Fire whiskey**

xXx

"I'm not really much of a drinker." Hermione hiccuped, giggling at the absurdity of the sound. Sirius smiled down at her amused, the full weight of her body leaning heavily into his side.

"You don't say." he replied amused wrapping an arm around her shoulders to keep her steady. She hiccuped again, burrowing into Sirius' side and humming as his grip on her tightened.

"You're comfy." she mumbled taking a deep breath against his chest, the scent of leather, tobacco and parchment soothing her alcohol addled mind.

"Why thank you." he replied carefully shifting himself around so they could both sit comfortably on the sofa of the common room.

Sirius was no stranger to Fire whiskey, he'd imbibed a fair amount since being kicked out of his own home and disowned by his family. That first year was a bit of a toss-up for him, whether or not he would party himself right out of school on account of his self-loathing or if he would pull through and make something of himself. It seemed to be the last of the two options at the moment. That didn't mean he still didn't enjoy a drink or two, especially when gathered in the dorms with his best mates. This particular Friday night at Hogwarts was special to him, a man only turns sixteen once and with that in mind he and the rest of what they referred to as the marauders were gathered in the boys dormitory passing a bottle between them and enjoying the company of close friends. Hermione and Lily had joined them not long after curfew and the five friends began a spirited round of never have I ever. Needless to say, Sirius was extremely confident in the knowledge that Hermione would be odd man out in this little game of theirs.

He should know by now not to underestimate her. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about knowing certain things about the woman he'd once considered pure and innocent. When they'd finally called it quits on the game, Sirius had carefully bundled Hermione up and helped her down the stairs, fully intending on using his little trick to get passed the girls' stairs and put her to bed to sleep it off. They'd barely made it off the landing before Hermione broke away and stumbled for the sofa, collapsing in a drunken heap. Sirius knew he couldn't leave her there alone, which brought him to his current predicament of propping up a very drunk Hermione while simultaneously trying not to think about just how close the young witch who'd captured his attentions so thoroughly, was.

Sirius tensed as he felt Hermione bury her head in his chest and take a deep breath, humming as she released it slowly. She looked up at him a lazy smile on her face. "You smell nice." she mumbled. He smirked.

"Oh really? What do I smell like?" he asked.

"Leather." she replied sleepily. She yawned, cuddling into side. "And grass."

"Grass?"

"Yeah, like nice grass. Like summer grass. Soft… fresh…" her words tapered off in volume as her eyes drooped closed. She was snoring softly in minutes and Sirius smiled down at her warmly.

xXx

Hermione woke when the pounding in her head could no longer be ignored. She was warm and achy at having slept at such a strange angle and she really had no recollection of how she ended up on the sofa in the common room. She shifted around trying to sit up she became aware of the body she was lying on and looked up, catching sight of a peacefully sleeping Sirius Black.

"Oh shit." she cursed under her breath, carefully extracting herself from under his arm only for his grip to tighten on her and pull her back to him. He muttered something sleepily but she couldn't really understand him as he sniffled a bit before settling down again. She tried again when she was sure it was safe, only for the same thing to happen again. She attempted it one more time and got the same result and with each attempt his grip grew tighter and tighter. "Fuck." she breathed, her face pressed against his chest.

"You swear a lot when you're hung over Mione." Sirius voice rumbled through her ear and she tensed a feeling of indignation rising within her.

"Sirius Black have you been awake this whole time?" she demanded.

"Not the whole time." he told her. "Only since the second time you tried to leave." he chuckled as he heard her growl at him.

"Your such an arse." she exclaimed wincing at her own volume as she finally broke free and slid across the couch away from him.

"That's not what you said last night." he said with a smirk, sitting up and running his hands through his hair. She couldn't help but think how unfair it was that he could look so sexy with bed head, or that such an issue was so easily fixed. The meaning of his words suddenly sank in and she paled.

"What do you mean? What did I saw last night?"

Sirius shot her a smirk. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"That is why I asked!" she snapped, glaring at him as he stood from his seat looking far too smug for her liking. Sirius took a deep breath and smiled down at her innocently.

"Do you smell that?" he asked curiously. Tentatively she sniffed the air, cautious of his motives. She shook her head when she didn't smell anything. "Smells like… Leather...and grass."

Hermione looked up at him confused and then it all started coming back to her. Playing never have I ever, collapsing on the common room sofa, snuggling up to Sirius. She gasped looking horrified and Sirius chuckled and Hermione's embarrassment quickly turned to rage. She picked up the pillow at the end of the sofa and chucked it at him as she got up. He batted it away, laughing as she stormed past him to the stairs. "Piss off Jerk."

"Come on Mione, don't be like that!" he laughed. "It's my birthday!"


	7. SPEW

The Good, The Bad and The Marauders

Chapter 7: S.P.E.W.

Takes place January of 4th year

 **Seventh Prompt: "Any particular reason you took your pants off?"**

xXx

"Any particular reason you took your pants off?...again."

"Again? Exactly how often are you naked in public Padfoot?" James asked confused as he came to a stop beside Hermione. She was resolutely looking anywhere but at Sirius Black, who, was once again naked in the common room.

"In all fairness, neither time did this happen on purpose." Sirius explained, clutching a pillow to his waist. To his credit, he did look very uncomfortable. Unlike the last time she'd walked in on him when he seemed amused more than anything.

Without a word, James darted up the stairs to the boy dormitory and came back moments later with the blanket from Sirius' bed. He handed it to him and Sirius wrapped up. "What the bloody hell happened? There aren't any clothes in your dresser." James asked once Sirius was covered.

"I may have embarrassed Remus and as payback he stole all my clothes." Sirius explained, looking thoroughly ashamed. He looked so pathetic; Hermione didn't even have it in her to scold him.

"What could you possibly have done to piss him off worse than any other time you've embarrassed him?' she asked. Sirius looked away, refusing to make eye contact with either of them.

"Oh Merlin, please tell me you didn't." James said his face paling.

"What? What is it?" Hermione asked confused.

"He's been dancing around her for months now, I just thought he could use a little push." Sirius replied. James groaned, dropping his head in his hands.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Hermione exclaimed.

Sirius sighed, finally looking her way. "I may have put Remus in an awkward situation in the hopes of forcing him to finally make a move on my cousin Tonks." he explained. James groaned again. "I know okay! I thought I was helping!" he defended himself.

"Helping? You know how he feels about…"James cut himself off, his eyes catching Hermione out of the corner of his eye.

"Feels about what?" she asked concerned. They could see the moment the answer crossed her mind. "Oh, you mean… his monthly problem."

Both of them were floored and James turned to glare at Sirius. "You told her?!"

"What? No!" Sirius exclaimed outraged.

"Damn it Sirius! I know you like her, but how could you?" James scolded.

"Did you not hear me the first time Prongs? I didn't tell her anything!"

"Actually he didn't." Hermione interrupted their shouting match.

"Then how do you know?" James asked.

"He always gets sick once a month, and he misses classes the day after the full moon." she stated matter of fact.

"I guess that makes it sound obvious doesn't it?" Sirius questioned turning to look at James wide eyed. James nodded.

"So, he's worried she'll reject him if she knows?" she asked. James nodded.

"It's more than that though. He thinks he's a monster. He doesn't think he deserves her, or to be happy at all really." Sirius explained. Hermione shook her head.

"That's ridiculous." she said. "He deserves to be happy just as much as anyone else." Sirius and James nodded in agreement.

"Problem is, you could tell him that a million times and he still wouldn't believe you." Sirius told her. "That's why I was hoping with this little push that he would see she likes him too and at least give it try. I know Nymphadora, she's not the type to judge someone for something they have no control over."

"What exactly did you do?" Hermione asked cautiously. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know.

"I may have put them in a situation that could have possibly put Remus directly into her very clumsy path." Sirius explained. "Unbeknownst to me, he was carrying something important and now Tonks is embarrassed and won't look him in the eye because she thinks she ruined his potions project."

Hermione and James shared a look before glaring at Sirius. "Yeah, you really shouldn't have."

Sirius slumped in defeat, blowing out a harsh breath.

Hermione rolled her eyes at his dramatics. She turned to James. "See if you can get his clothes back would you?" she asked as she stood and headed for the portrait.

"Where are you going?" James called after her.

"To fix it." she called back without turning around.

Despite what Hermione said that afternoon, nothing seemed to change. Tonk grew more comfortable around Remus again, much to his delight and she no longer found it difficult to look him in the eye. It happened so slowly that James and Sirius chalked it up to Tonks' Hufflepuff nature and not Hermione's intervention.

And then one afternoon during lunch, Sirius, James, Remus and Peter had joined Hermione and Lily at the Gryffindor table, when Tonks led a small group of Hufflepuff toward the table. "Hey Mione." Tonks called out to the young Gryffindor. Hermione turned a radiant smile on the Metamorphmagus.

"Hey Tonks." Hermione greeted her, her eyes traveled the small group behind her. "Is this everybody who's interested?"

"You bet." a short little first year spoke up behind Tonks before blushing abashed at his outburst. Hermione smiled at him sweetly.

"That's excellent. Professor Mcgonagall gave a classroom in the east wing. We'll meet there for the first meeting tonight." she explained and received excited smiles in return. "There'll be a few Ravenclaws and Gryffindors too."

"No luck with the Slytherins huh?" Tonks questioned, already knowing the answer.

Hermione shrugged. "Baby steps."

"What's going on? You starting a club Mione?" James asked. Hermione turned to smile at him.

"As a matter of fact I am." she told them. "It's called S.P.E.W." she explained.

Sirius snorted. "What kind of name is that?"

"One I'm working on." she admitted. "It stands for The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare." Sirius cringed. "Like I said, I'm working on it. Especially since it's not just about House Elves." she continued.

"Then what's it about?" Remus asked.

"All magical creatures." Tonks replied with an excited smile.

Hermione nodded. "With everything that's going out there in the world, I thought it might behoove us to create an organization that promotes justice for all marginalized magical creatures. We need to show unity with each other if we have any chance of beating whatever darkness is out there waiting. We start with things like stricter laws for people abuse their bonded elves and abolishing laws that restrict the rights of werewolves and centaurs, etc."

At "Werewolves" Remus choked as he drank from his pumpkin juice, coughing and sputtering to regain his breath. "You alright Remus?" Tonks asked him worried as he finally stopped coughing. James gave him a little pat on the back to help him out.

"Yes." he choked out. "Just fine." she smiled at him, oblivious to the blush that was crawling up his neck.

"Alright, so I'll see you guys tonight." Hermione finally said and with that the small group dispersed.

Hermione turned back to the table to find Remus staring after Tonks as she left the great hall. He looked around at the table as if he wanted to say something only but didn't as he stood from his seat and rushed out of the Great Hall.

Sirius and James looked to Hermione with huge grins to see her flipping through her text book, a smug little smirk on her face.


	8. Deserving

Deserving

A/N: Takes place April of 4th year, immediately following Motorcycle

Prompt Eight: "Just you wait, in twenty years, I'll be _ second husband." "What happened to my first husband?" "Nothing you can prove"

xXx

"Never have I ever had a crush on Hermione Granger." James said and they all watched as Sirius tipped a shot of Firewhiskey back without hesitation.

"Just you wait, in twenty years, I'll be Hermione's second husband." Sirius said as he refilled his shot glass.

"What happened to my first husband?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Nothing you can prove." Sirius grinned. They all laughed as Hermione rolled her eyes.

"You wish." she replied.

"You have no idea." Hermione rolled her eyes, pushing down the blush that threatened stain her cheeks.

The Easter holidays had come up on them quickly and after having spent a week with James and his family, the group of friends had decided to head back to Hogwarts for the rest of their vacation. This of course led to another rousing round of never have I ever this time in the Room of Requirement. The game was winding down, none of them really interested in the game so much as the bottle of Firewhiskey Sirius and James had pilfered from Professor Slughorn's office before the rest of the students left. The game had quickly devolved into the boys trying to get each other drunk and Lily, Hermione and Tonks watched on in amusement.

When the bottle was empty the game was officially over and the group of friends huddled together laughing and teasing each other over the previous revelations. "Padfoot has a crush on Hermione." James giggled, having taken the brunt of the game.

"You already knew that James, we all did." Lily replied trying not to smile at the drunken look on his face. She was hard pressed to admit that the young Gryffindor was starting to grow on her, especially when he wasn't acting like an arrogant show off.

Hermione said nothing as she tried to melt into the floor boards. She'd known for awhile now that Sirius held some sort of affection for her but she had always played it off in her mind as a passing fascination. She was the only woman to ever turn him down, the only one who ever said no. Of course, that line of thought didn't really help things along in her own mind as she slowly came to the realization that she may of held some feelings for him as well.

"What do you think Mione?" Lily asked just loud enough for only the young witch to hear her.

"Think about what?" She asked earning an incredulous look from her closest friend. Hermione stared back before realizing she couldn't hide anything from the spunky red head. So she shrugged. There really wasn't anything else she could say, not with all of these people close enough to overhear, not before she was sure of what she felt.

Lily smiled at her knowingly before turning her attention back to the boys. Hermione held back a laugh at the sight of James' head in Sirius' lap. "I'm so sorry Hermione." Toni's said loud enough to draw everyone's attention. "It would appear my cousin has moved on."

They all laughed at the pair and Hermione tried to ignore the way Sirius looked at her, silver eyes practically burning her with their heated gaze. She managed to survive it though as the evening wore on into the early morning hours and slowly they all began drifting off in the nest of blankets and pillows they'd constructed.

The next morning, Hermione was the first to wake and carefully extracted herself from her sleeping friends, before oh so quietly making her way to the girls dorm in Gryffindor Tower. She showered and changed and then made her way to the kitchens to pick up breakfast for everyone. The elves were kind enough to pack it all up for her and she carried it back to the Room of Requirements(which they'd imagined into Gryffindor Tower) where she found Remus and Tonks on the sofa and Lily in a chair by the fireplace. Peter was sitting on the hearth, his back to the fireplace side.

"Hey, I was wondering where you'd gotten to." Lily greeted her.

"I thought I'd go pick up breakfast for everyone." Hermione explained setting the parcel on the coffee table.

"Always looking out for us, eh, Mione." Remus teased her and smiled passing him the thermos of tea. He took it and prepared three cups while Lily poured out two cups of the pumpkin juice, one for her and one for Peter and then together they spread out the parcel of food like a buffet on the small coffee table.

As if awoken by the aroma, Sirius and James joined them not long afterward looking disheveled and tired. "Awe, looks like the love birds are awake." Tonks teased.

"Ha, ha, very funny, Nymphadora." Sirius replied watched amused as her hair turned a brilliant red. Remus rolled his eyes at his friend, laying a hand on Tonks' arm to calm her. She smiled at him, leaning into his side.

James and Sirius came to sit around the table and Hermione handed over the third thermos with coffee in it. Sirius smiled gratefully and they all set to eating. When breakfast was finished Hermione vanished the plates and everyone else left for their dorms. Tonks went back to the Hufflepuff dorm, intending to meet Remus in the Library later, and everyone else went back to Gryffindor tower. While her housemates went about getting ready for the day, Hermione scribbled a little note for Lily and ducked out through the portrait hole, making a beeline for the lake.

Hermione had learned rather quickly that nothing soothed her mind like spending time around the lake. The gentle sounds of the water lapping against the shore and the cooling breeze always helped to ease her mind when she was trying to think through a difficult problem. Today's problem took the form of one Sirius Black.

She knew she liked him. That wasn't hard to figure out. In the last few years of getting to know him, of seeing what he was really like when he wasn't putting on a show for the rest of the school, she could admit that she had grown feelings for the former Black heir. When he wasn't being a bully, or picking fights, or embarrassing their house, he was sweet, and caring and fiercely protective. It didn't hurt that she'd caught him naked in the common room twice now, leading to the revelation that he was not bad looking either.

Hermione sighed. The problem was, Sirius was a free soul, someone who liked to remain active, keep on the move. Nothing seemed to hold his interest for very long and Hermione was concerned that if she agreed to go out with him, he would no longer consider her a challenge and thus, cast her aside.

Hermione came to rest under a tree at the lakes edge, leaning back against the bark and letting the breeze wash over her. She'd just started to relax when she heard the distinct sound of footsteps in the grass walking toward her. She opened her eyes to find Sirius walking toward her and she smiled as he stopped in front of her. "Hey," he greeted. "You okay?" he asked. Hermione nodded and patted the ground beside her, offering him a seat. He took the seat, leaning back against the tree next to her. "You know I was kind of worried." he told her after a few minutes of content silence.

"About what?" she asked.

"You." he replied.

"Why would you be worried about me?"

Sirius shrugged, fidgeting a bit as he looked down at his hands. "I just, uh, well...I didn't want you to be scared away, I guess." he began.

"Scared away by what?" Hermione asked confused.

"Last night, when I admitted that I liked you and everyone was teasing us about it. I just didn't want you to think you had to stay away from me because you didn't return my feelings."

Hermione "ohed" silently, pressing herself back against the tree like some nervous tick. "Who says I don't." she finally replied softly and it was only his finely tuned K9 ears that let him hear her.

"What are you saying?" he asked trying not to get his hopes up.

Hermione took a deep breath. "I'm saying that I have gotten the chance to get to know the real you in the last few years and… you're not awful."

Sirius laughed, grinning down at her. "That should be my new slogan. "Sirius Black, Not Awful."

Hermione shook her head, burying her face in her hands to hide the blush that crept up her neck. When Sirius finally calmed down he pulled her hands away from her face and smiled down at her in that way that always lit butterflies in her stomach. "I get the feeling this isn't a new revelation for you, so I guess I'm wondering if there's a reason you haven't said anything before."

Hermione looked away. "I just…" she took a deep breath. "You have a lot of power you know." she finally continued looking back up at him. "You could hurt me very easily." she explained. "I don't want to get hurt."

"And I don't want to hurt you." he replied looking pained at her admission. "Why do you think I could hurt you?"

"I'm afraid that I'm one of those things you get obsessed with and then when you finally have it you get bored and forget about it. I don't want to be the girl who falls for you only to find out you only liked me because I was hard to get."

"That's exactly why I like you Hermione." Sirius replied and Hermione looked up at him shocked. "But not because I couldn't charm my way into your skirt, or flash you a smile and have you falling all over me. I liked you because the challenge you presented made me want to be a better person. I was damaged and hurt and I was using that as an excuse to hurt and use other people and you took one look at me and said "Not me too." you showed me that being a victim doesn't give me the right to victimize others." he smiled sardonically. "I don't consider you a challenge because you're "immune" to my charms. I consider you a challenge because I don't deserve you."

Hermione furiously wiped at the tears that had started to fall, looking away from him. "Oh hey, no please don't cry. What is it, what did I say?" he asked moving closer to kneel next to her. He gently lifted her face and wiped away the tears with his thumbs against either cheek. He smiled softly. "I didn't mean to make you cry, I'm-"

His apology was cut off as she extended herself toward him, planting a kiss on his lips and responding to his confession with every ounce of passion she could muster.


	9. Skinny Dipping

The Good, The Bad, and The Marauders

Chapter 9: Skinny Dipping

 **Prompt: Skinny Dipping**

Takes Place summer before 5th year

xXx

The rest of the term flew by quickly and before anyone knew it they were heading home for the summer. Promises were made on the train to meet up over the break, especially between the newest couple. The day Hermione and Sirius had decided to give a relationship a try they had also decided to keep it to themselves for a little while. Just to feel things out, to get to know each other in this new way before they were to be constantly bombarded with attention from their friends. Of course that didn't last very long. They quickly discovered that they couldn't keep their hands off of each other and within a day they'd been caught snogging when they thought they'd be alone for awhile.

Their friends had teased them for a little while, but eventually the shine wore off and they settled down. They were very happy for their friends and wished them the best. Of course a jab here or there was still expected but it wasn't too bad.

About two weeks after they'd all returned home, Sirius received an owl from Hermione. Her parents were going out of town to a orthodontics convention and had decided to turn the weekend trip into a two week second honeymoon. Thus leaving Hermione at home...alone. Sirius had grinned as he read the letter before stuffing it in his pocket and setting about thinking over an excuse to be away from Potter manor for nearly fourteen days.

He'd finally settled on going to visit his uncle Alphard for the time, the elder Black citing a need to go over some paperwork for his inheritance, and wouldn't it just be so nice if he stuck around for awhile to keep his favorite uncle company.

So with his perfectly constructed lie, Sirius packed up a bag or two, strapped them on the back of his motorcycle and sped off toward the Granger household. Sirius had never been to Hermione's house, only Lily had to his knowledge, but she had assured him it was easy to find and hard to miss. As he pulled up to the wrought iron gates he realized how right she was. The old brick mansion was about the size of Potter Manor with ivy and branches clinging to the facade and creeping up the sides around windows and outcroppings. The long drive way was paved and ended near the house in a circle around a fountain. Large hedges outlined the front of the house and and sides, providing a sense of privacy.

Sirius pulled up to the mid sized dark box implanted into the brick pillar beside the gate and pressed the only button visible. A moment later Hermione's voice filtered out.

"Hey, give me a second and I'll open the gate." she told him and he didn't have to wait long before the gate opened up to him. He pulled his bike through, and up the driveway, parking at the foot of the steps just as the front door opened. Hermione stepped out and smiled as she walked toward him. He smiled back, all thoughts of these new revelations about her gone from his mind as the light breeze fluttered the skirt of her soft blue summer dress.

"Hello." Sirius greeted as she stopped beside him, he still straddling his bike.

"Hello." she replied biting her lip. Sirius smirked, slowly leaning toward her until he could capture her lips with his. The kiss was slow and intimate but didn't last long as Hermione pulled away and stepped back allowing Sirius to dismount his bike. He did, pulling his bags from the back. Hermione took his hand pulling him up the front steps and into the house.

The inside of the house was tastefully decorated and looking more like a wealthy wizarding home than he expected. The only difference of course being the lack of magic. "So, how long can you stay?" she asked. Sirius smirked.

"As long as you want me. I told everyone I was staying with my Uncle Alphard to go over my inheritance." Sirius stepped closer, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her against him. "So, I'm here until you get tired of me."

Hermione smiled. "Well then, looks like you're never leaving then." she replied as she leaned up and kissed him long and slow. When they pulled apart Sirius huffed.

"Damn." he exclaimed making Hermione laugh. She shook her head and took his hand pulling him toward the staircase in the foyer. She led him upstairs to a bedroom at the back of the house where the walls were a soft purple and books lined shelves and stacked on any flat surface they could find. Picture were scattered around the room. Two frames on the bedside table, one of all of them laughing together at the end of the past year and the second of just the two of them cuddled up together on the couch in the common room. The bed was just big enough for the two of them.

"So," Sirius began watching has Hermione took a seat on the edge of the bed. He set his bags by the book shelf closets to the bathroom and moved to stand in front of her. "What's the plan?"

"What makes you think I have a plan?" she asked looking up at him coyly.

Sirius chuckled. "Because you're Hermione Granger. You always have a plan?"

"Your Hermione Granger. You always have a plan." he told her loving the light tint on her cheeks.

"There's a small pub in town that has really good food and tonight open mic night." she explained. "I know how much you love music so I thought it would be perfect for your first day here." she explained.

"That sounds amazing." he told her. "You know me so well."

xXx

Hermione lived on the outskirts of a small country town. The house belonged to her family and had been passed down for generations even when the generations before her stopped running the enormous farm that extended the countryside. Now her parents were dentists who commuted to their large practice two towns over everyday.

The town was not much larger than hogsmeade and everywhere they went Hermione was greeted by name with a smile.

It seemed like the whole town was at the pub, packed into booths and stacked around tables sharing pints and delicious smelling food. There was a small table near the back left open and Hermione led him there where they sat and ordered drinks and Hermione ordered them food assuring them that he would like what she ordered. He took her word for it.

When the food arrived Sirius dug in pleased to see that Hermione had been right, it was amazing. They ate, they laughed and when they were done they fell into silence with the rest of the pub as open mic started.

"What would you say if I wanted to learn guitar?" Sirius asked in between sets. Hermione laughed.

"I'd say it's surprising you don't already know how. You're such a music buff I would have expected you to play some kind of instrument."

"Well I play the piano. Walburga made Reg and I learn, something about posture and composure." he explained rolling his eyes. "I don't know. It was about the only thing I was good at that she didn't hate me for."

Knowing how much Sirius hated pity she continued on, putting his self deprecating remarks out of his mind. "I think you'd look hot with a guitar." she replied trying not to blush at such a bold statement. It wasn't entirely like her but she knew Sirius would appreciate it nonetheless.

Sirius looked down at her, tucked under his arm, and grinned. "You think so?" she nodded leaning up to peck him on the lips. They listened to the remaining acts until nearly eleven after which Sirius led Hermione out of the pub to his motorcycle. He drove them back to her house outside of town and up the long driveway where he parked in the empty space in the garage.

"That was a lot of fun. We should bring the others sometime." Sirius suggested as she pulled him into the house.

"There's one every Friday." she told him. "We can invite them up next week."

"Sounds good to me, I'll owl Prongs later." he replied off handedly, following her around the lower level, taking in what he hadn't had the chance to see before they left.

As they passed into the sitting room, his attention was drawn out through the french doors. "What's that?" he asked, drawing her attention as he walked up to the door.

"What's what?" she asked moving up beside him. "You mean the swimming pool?" she asked watching him stare out at the inground swimming pool.

"A swimming pool?" he questioned confused. Hermione nodded.

"Don't they have pools in the Wizarding world?" she asked. "I mean I know James' family has a lake on their property that they swim in, but…"

"Oh, so it's like a man made lake?" he asked. She nodded. "And you swim in it?" she nodded again. "Why's it all sectioned off?"

"The bigger section it the swimming pool. The smaller one is the hot tub." she explained. Sirius looked confused again. "It's like a mini spa bath. Hot water and massaging jets of water."

Hermione smiled to herself, reaching over and unlocking the door. She pushed them open and stepped out onto the stone patio. She looked back at him and took his hand, tugging him out behind her and over to a patio lounger near the edge of the pool. Sirius got the hint when she sat down and took a seat next to her, pulling her against him so they were lying back to front. The minimal light pollution made it the perfect place to watch the stars.

"I was afraid I wouldn't be able to see the stars when I went to Hogwarts." she spoke up softly.

"You like watching the stars?" Sirius asked just as softly.

"I do. They're a reminder." she replied

"A reminder for what?" he questioned, pulling her closer. He listened as Hermione took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"When Professor Mcgonagall came to talk to us about Hogwarts she warned us that things wouldn't be easy for me. That there were people who would look down on me and I was scared. I almost talked myself out of going. But then I came out here one night and I looked up at the sky and I realized, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. They can look down on me all they want. It won't change the fact that we are all small and insignificant compared to the rest of the universe. To the rest of the universe, blood status doesn't matter, we're all the same."

Sirius leaned over and laid a kiss on her temple. "Well said Kitten." he replied. She huffed. "You know it says something about us too, don't you?" he continued never one to leave the mood somber.

"What does it say about us?" she asked.

"That you've been staring at me for years. We're meant to be Mione." he grinned ducking an elbow and rolling out from behind her and getting to his feet. He bounced on the balls of his feet giddily, grinning at her.

"You're such a dork." she laughed. Sirius' grin widened as an idea struck him.

To Hermione's surprise he pulled his shirt off as he kicked off his shoes. "What are you doing?" she asked sitting up.

"Going swimming." he stated as if it should be obvious.

"What? Sirius you don't have a swim suit." she stood quickly just as he tossed his jeans away.

"So?" he teased with a smirk. He was left standing before her in only his black boxer briefs. He stood tall and proud, his fists on his hips like one of those comic book superheros Peter liked to read about. She watched as he took a step back and then another, moving to the edge of the pool. She shook her head.

"You know that's three times now you've seen me in the buff-"

"You're still wearing underwear."

"-I think it's only a fair you strip down too." Sirius told her. He shot her a saucy little wink and with a little hop, went plunging into the water.

"You've completely lost your mind." he heard as he surfaced and looked up at the edge to see Hermione standing there, shaking her head and looking thoroughly disappointed in him. He merely smiled defiantly. Hermione sighed. "Have you gotten it out of your system now?"

"Nope." he replied popping the P obnoxiously. "Now, come on, join me, the water's fantastic."

"And I suppose you want me to get naked still?"

"That would be preferable, wouldn't want your pretty dress to get ruined." she resisted the urge to laugh as he wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Come on Kitten, live a little. Where's the girl that kicked everyones arses at 'Never Have I Ever'?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. Seven months later and he still wasn't going to let her live that down. Sirius continued to wheedle and poke at her, flopping around in the water and just making a general fool of himself until Hermione huffed.

"Fine." she told him, rolling her eyes as he whooped in victory. "Just… turn around okay?" she told him nervously. Sirius grinned doing a little shimmy as he put his back to her.

He heard the soft cotton of her dress gently hit the patio stone and then not a moment later the water rippled around him. He waited though, until he felt her hand on his shoulder letting him know she was ready for him to turn around.

"See, now that wasn't so hard." he said softly as he came face to face with her. She smiled ruefully as he leaned down to kiss her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and slowly pulled her against him, deepening the kiss.

They pulled away after a few moments, and Sirius smiled at her lovingly, his expression belaying the words he spoke next;

"I'm so sorry about this, Mione." before she could react Sirius ducked under the water, wrapped his arms around her thighs and pulled her up, and flung her across the pool as she screamed at him. Hermione came up seconds later screeching and sputtering at him and slapping the water as she threw a fit. Sirius just laughed as she cursed him. He was so busy laughing at her he failed to notice her coming closer until she had jumped at him, knocking them both back into the water.

They struggled playfully with each other until they were laughing too hard to breath properly and Hermione swam to the edge and hoisted herself out, seemingly ignorant of her state of dress, not that Sirius was complaining. He watched her his swinging with each step as she made her way over to the pile of clothes he'd left in a heap by the lounger and picked up his white shirt pulling it on over her wet underwear. As much as he liked the look of her before, he definitely loved the look of her in his shirt.

"Coming?" she asked scooping up her dress and the rest of his clothes and heading back through the french doors. She smiled to herself as she heard Sirius scramble out of the pool, sliding across the hardwood floors as he ran after her.


	10. Animagus

The Good The Bad and The Marauders

Chapter 10: Animagus

 **Prompt from a Guest commentor; Animagus**

 **A/N: Takes place immediately after chapter Nine.**

xXx

"You want me to what?" Sirius asked looking up at his girlfriend of only a few months.

"I want you to help me finish the process of becoming an animagus." She repeated without missing a beat, transferring a pancake onto the small serving platter. When she was finished she turned off the stove burner and turned to set the platter on the table where she'd set out several other plates of breakfast foods. She looked up at Sirius when the platter was placed to find him staring up at her questioningly.

"What do you mean finish the process?" he asked suspiciously. She shrugged.

"Well, I've wanted to do this for a while now and my schedule has been so hectic at school. I managed to do the meditation on my own and this last month before you came to visit I did the whole mandrake leaf thing, but now I'm having trouble shifting." she told him, taking a seat across from him at the table. "I've read a bunch of books on the subject and it says that if you're having trouble meditating to start your first transformation you should have someone who's already gone through the process talk you through the meditation."

Sirius nodded. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Legal Animagi have to learn with a master, this is probably why." Sirius grinned mischievously and Hermione looked wary. "Hermione Granger, breakin' the rules, whatever will Professor McGonagall think?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "She's not going to find out, now is she, Padfoot?"

"She'll never hear it from me love." he replied cheekily. She nodded, satisfied by his answer. Sirius turned to the breakfast she'd laid out for him and set to work piling his plate up with food before shoveling it into his mouth ravenously. If she didn't know any better she'd think he hadn't eaten in years. "We'll start after breakfast." he garbled around his food and he had to chew and swallow before repeating himself so Hermione could understand.

"Okay." she replied excitedly and they quickly finished breakfast and cleaned up. When they were finished putting everything away, Sirius took Hermione by the hand and led her upstairs to the small study where the walls were lined with bookshelves filled with leather bound books. "Why are we here?" she asked as Sirius led her over to the floor in front of the big stone fireplace.

"Peter, James and I did our training in the Room of Requirement and the room changed for us into something we all found relaxing. It wasn't until the room changed for each of us that we were able to transfigure ourselves. And what relaxes you more than being surrounded by old books?" he teased. Hermione laughed.

"You know me so well." she told him, leaning up to peck him on the cheek.

"I would hope so, we've been friends for year's now." he said. "Okay, so, let your body be loose, just relax yourself." he told her and she did as instructed. "Now close your eyes and take nice slow, deep breaths. Quiet your mind and focus only on you animal. Do you see it?"

"Yes." she said softly.

"Good, now follow the threads of magic toward it. Let them guide you along gently, a little bit at a ti…" his voice faded away in her mind and she found herself running her fingers all along the golden threads of her magic following along, the darkened path lit only by the glow of her threads.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there in front of the old fireplace, eyes closed, mental focus sharp but it all came to a halt when she felt a pressure on her shoulder. Her eyes snapped open and she immediately came face to face with Sirius. "Welcome back." he smiled.

"How did I do?" she asked.

"You almost had it a couple of times. I could see the magic sparking around you, I'd say it won't be much longer." he explained. Hermione grinned.

"Are you serious?" she asked bouncing a little in her excitement.

"Yes I am!" he replied just as excited and she ignored the double meaning as she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck her body knocking him back onto the floor. Hermione peppered his face with kisses as he laughed, wrapping his arms around her waist. When they finally calmed down he asked. "So, why do you want to do this?"

She shrugged, a light tint crossing her cheeks. "At first I just wanted to prove that I could. I thought it might also be a useful skill to have."

"What's the reason now?" she looked away the blush darkening. She pulled back sitting up.

"I've been reading up on werewolves recently." she started. "And well, I was thinking that maybe, well no, I know that Remus' transformations would be easier on him, the bigger his pack is." she explained. "I know he has you guys but now he also has Tonks too, so I thought we could help by expanding his pack."

She grew self-conscious as Sirius stared at her, his face unreadable. "Hermione?" he finally began breaking the tension. "Is Lily learning to become an animagus too?" she nodded. "And Tonks?"

"Tonk's doesn't have to. She did, it came very easy to her, but she didn't have to." she replied. Sirius looked confused.

"Why doesn't she?"

Hermione sighed. "Please don't tell Remus, we're not sure he realizes it yet and if he does they haven't talked about it."

"Okay?" Sirius looked concerned. "What is it?"

"Tonks was telling me the other day how when she's with Remus she feels… it feels right. But not like it feels right between us. It feels like a spark, like she'd never be able to be away from him. I did some research on it for her because it scared her a little bit to think she was dependent on a guy she'd only been dating a few months and it turns out…" Hermione hesitated but an encouraging look from Sirius had her continuing on. "She's his mate."

"His mate?" he asked confused. "Like, mate for life? How is that…" Sirius stopped eyes wide. "Mooney?" Hermione nodded.

"He's a werewolf, his senses are heightened, his body is stronger, _he's_ stronger and like all werewolves, he has a mate, who is apparently your cousin Tonks." she continued.

"Well that explains his instant attraction to her. He's never looked at another girl the way he looks at her. We were beginning to wonder if he even liked girls until she came along." Sirius paused. "And Tonk's doesn't think he knows?" Sirius asked. Hermione shook her head.

"He's never talked about it. She's sure he's noticed it but whether or not he's figured out what it is, she has no idea."

"Is she going to talk to him about it?" he asked.

"We talked about it between the three of us and that's when we came up with the pack plan." she said. "Tonks was worried that this would make Remus leave her. You know how he is with his werewolf side."

Sirius nodded. "Yeah, he'll probably try to run. His self-sacrificing nature kicking in. So your plan is to all gang up on him when he tries?"

"Sort of, we figured if we provided a united front against his flight instinct he'd know this is where he belongs. With all of us."

Sirius smiled at her. "You know I love how much you love my brothers." he told her. She smiled.

"Well, they're my brothers too." she told him and Sirius leaned forward pecking her on the lips.

"We're pack." he said softly. Hermione nodded. "We'll all be there for them when Tonks talks to Remus and then we'll all talk to him together about this pack thing."

Hermione's smile widened. "Good." she let out a relieved breath.

Sirius' smile turned to a teasing smirk. "You know you never told me what your animagus is."

She waggled her finger at him. "Nice try babe, but that is a secret."

Sirius chuckled. "It was worth a shot."

xXx

Two nights, and several meditation sessions later Hermione woke from a strangely uplifting dream. As breathed deeply she could still smell the salt in the air, hear the waves crashing along the rocky shore. Gulls screeched above her head as water lapped around. She couldn't say exactly why, but she had a feeling this was the perfect moment to try again. She didn't even bother getting out of bed. She simply sat up, crossed her legs and closed her eyes, relaxing back into the memories of the calming dream she'd awoken from. It didn't take long before she felt it, the shift of her magic, the rush of primal feelings.

She opened her eyes and realized she was much smaller. She squeaked with joy taking a running jump off the bed and sliding to a stop in front of the full length mirror. There she was in animagus form no more than three feet tall if that, with dark brown fur and light brown muzzle. She did a little spin getting a good look at herself and squeaked in joy again. Just like in her meditations, she was a sea otter.

A deep chuckle drew her attention to the bed and she found Sirius leaning over the edge smiling at her. "That's adorable." he laughed as she hopped a few steps toward her. She climbed out a bed and soon enough Padfoot was walking toward her, his snout nuzzling her own affectionately. They made quite the picture she was sure.

They played around for a while, teasing and chasing each other around the room. At one point Hermione ended up laying on Sirius' back while he trotted around the room, ending his little go around by hopping up onto the bed and dumping her off his back before curling up around her.

They slept through the rest of the night that way.


	11. Pack Bonds

The Good, The Bad and The Marauders

Chapter 11: Pack Bonds

A/N: No prompt for this one, I just really wanted some Happy Remus, even if there isn't a whole lot of it here.

xXx

Hermione woke the next morning feeling warm and calm. She was lying in the middle of the bed, no longer in her animagus form but she could still feel Sirius wrapped around her. She sighed contentedly, smiling to herself. She snuggled down into the nest of blankets Sirius had built up around them. She couldn't remember ever feeling so comfortable.

The comfort was interrupted by a pecking at the window and she chuckled as Sirius grumbled and groaned behind her, tightening his arms around her as she tried to wiggle away. The pecking only grew more persistent as Sirius refused to let her go.

"Sirius." Hermione laughed as he buried his face in the back of her neck.

"Noooo." he whined.

"I have to let the owl in." she told him finally breaking free. He made grabby hands at her and she stepped out of his reach and toward the window. She pulled open the window and the little brown owl flew in, perching on the edge of her desk. She walked toward him and offered him a treat then took the letter from his leg and watched as he took off again.

"Who's it from?" Sirius asked sleepily, pulling himself up against the headboard.

"Lily." she said as she returned to the bed. She sat down beside him, leaning into his side as she opened the letter. She read through it smiling. "She did it!" Hermione exclaimed.

"She became animagus?" Sirius asked looking over her shoulder to read the letter himself. "Does it say what her animagus is?"

"Um…" Hermione hummed scanning the letter. "It looks like she's… a doe." she said.

Sirius snorted. "You're kidding right?" he asked. Hermione looked up confused.

"What's wrong with a deer?" she asked.

"Nothing." he replied quickly with a grin. Hermione still looked suspicious.

"What aren't you telling me?" she sat up, turning around to face him. His grin widened.

"You know how we call James 'Prongs'?" he asked. She nodded. "Well, all our Marauders nicknames come from our Animagus forms. That way we can talk about them without anyone knowing."

"Right, which is why they call you Padfoot." she replied. "And Remus is Mooney, because none of you are as clever as you think you are." she continued. Sirius pouted. "But why is James…" Hermione trailed off as she began to think and Sirius watched amused at the exact moment it struck her.

"There it is." he muttered as the proverbial light bulb switched on.

"Merlin, he's a stag isn't he?" she looked up at him wide eyed. He nodded.

"Yes Ma'am." he replied cheekily.

"Oh that's perfect." she continued a little grin slowly forming on her lips. "Lily's going to freak. She's already fighting…" she stopped immediately, looking back up at Sirius again. Sirius looked highly intrigued by what she had almost said.

"Fighting what, kitten?" he asked in that smooth way he did when he was ready to dig in for the long haul. Hermione knew him well enough to know that that tone meant she was screwed. She didn't have a hope in hell of getting him to let it go. Unless of course…

"You can make those sexy bedroom eyes all you want, Hermione Granger. It won't distract me. What is Lily fighting?" he told her smugly.

Hermione leaned closer running a hand up his bare chest, her eyes lidded, a sultry smile on her face. "Are you sure?"

She watched as Sirius took a deep steadying breath, sure in her victory. That is until he gently lifted her hand from his chest, bringing it to his lips. He laid a kiss on her fingers before intertwining them with his own.

"Positive." he finally replied. "But I love this whole sex kitten thing you've got going. It's really working for me."

"Obviously not enough." she sighed, sitting back beside him against the headboard. "You can't say anything okay, she trusted me with this."

"Promise." he replied making a show of crossing his heart with their joined fingers.

"She's starting to realize that she may have a little crush on James. Nothing major and he always seems to make her forget about it when he's goofing off, but whenever he's being particularly thoughtful… and quiet," she added. "She remembers that he's not so bad."

"Yeah, that actually makes a lot of sense. Dorea has been on him about being more humble. He's trying."

"Well, she's noticing, she's just not quite there yet." Hermione replied. "Anyway." she continued picking up the letter again. "It looks like the girls are ready so if you want to owl James and Peter and let them know the plan, maybe we can meet up."

"Yeah, we can meet after the next full moon. Remus will be bedridden all day afterward so we won't have to worry about him thinking we're leaving him out of something." Sirius suggested.

"That's perfect. The next full moon is this coming Wednesday. My parents will still be out of town. We can have them come over and spend the night. Work out all the details."

"Excellent." he said, leaning over to peck her on the head before getting up. "I'll owl Peter and James now. May I?" he asked gesturing to her desk.

"Help yourself."

xXx

"Have I ever told you how much I love muggle fashion?" Sirius said as he approached Hermione, laying back on one of the pool chair, legs stretched out and sunglasses over her eyes. She wore a little red and white pokedot bikini. Hermione turned her head to look at him and smirked.

"What, they don't have bikinis in the wizarding world?" she asked. Sirius snorted.

"Pureblood women don't wear bathing suits at all. I'm surprised woman in the wizarding world are even allowed to go outside." Sirius joked, taking the seat beside her. He was wearing a bathing suit himself, a pair of bright red swim trunks she'd found in one of the spare bedrooms. He waved a couple of envelopes at her.

"Are those from the boys?" she questioned. Sirius nodded.

"They've both agreed to come back here with me on Thursday morning after we see Remus to bed. I didn't tell them what it was about though, just that you girls were planning something for Remus."

"Perfect." she said leaning over and pecking him on the lips. Sirius grinned, cutting his eyes to the pool.

"Care for a swim?" he asked. Hermione grinned slyly.

"Alright." she replied and without hesitating, Hermione shifted into her animagus form and took a running dive into the deep end.

Sirius smiled ruefully. "Not exactly what I meant." he looked to the water watching as Hermione splashed around. He chuckled, shifting into Padfoot and leaping into the water.

xXx

"Hermione, your house is incredible." James said as Sirius led he and Peter onto the back patio around the pool. Hermione smiled.

"How's he doing?" Tonks asked as the both joined her, Lily and Hermione where they had been sitting since the girls arrived after breakfast.

"Tired." Sirius explained. "But compared to some of the others, it was pretty easy night." he continued.

"So, what did you girls want to talk about?" James asked. Hermione shared a look with Tonks before she replied.

"You're all aware of how much easier Remus' transformations are with all of you around, correct?"

"Yeah," Peter replied. "I think we're considered his pack aren't we?"

Hermione nodded. "Exactly. Well, you see, the girls and I were talking and we think it would be best for Remus if his pack was bigger."

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"To put it bluntly, Potter," Tonks began. "I've been feelin' a little weird around Remus and Hermione's looked into it for me. It turns out, I'm his mate." she finished.

"His mate?" James asked wide eyed.

Lily who had been quietly observing since the conversation began, seemed to notice the panic that crossed Peter's face. "Peter what's wrong?" she asked and all eyes turned on the small boy.

"Nothing." he replied a little too quickly. All he got in reply were incredulous stares.

"Peter, if something's wrong you can talk to us." Sirius told him.

"I know." he answered quietly. "I just…" he hesitated looking around the group. He sighed. "Remus said something about you being his mate to me a few weeks after you got together." he told them.

"So he does know then?" Hermione asked. Peter nodded.

"He was afraid of scaring you away." he told Tonks. "I don't think it matters how many people tell him they love him and accept his for who he is. He spent years thinking he's a monster and no amount of good cheer and jokes about being furry once a month are going to change the way he feels."

"Why didn't he talk to us about this?" James asked clearly hurt by Remus' supposed lack of faith in them.

"Probably because you're always pushing him to do things he's not comfortable doing." Lily cut in. "I understand wanting him to face his fears and step outside his comfort zone, but there's a limit to how much people can with someone who has the kind of self image issues that Remus has."

"I just want him to be happy." James spoke softly.

"We all do, Prongs." Sirius replied patting his best friend on the shoulder. Lily looked a little guilty at having upset James but she shook it off as Tonks spoke up.

"Which is why we're doing this. He needs to know I'm not going anywhere, ever." she said adamantly. He needs to know that we're family."

Nobody replied but there was obvious silent agreement among the group.

"So how do we want to do this?" Peter broke the silence.

"Well, we definitely shouldn't wait until it's closer to the full moon. His emotions will be running high we don't want him to react badly." Lily replied. Hermione nodded.

"Tonks should definitely talk to him first. Let him know that they're on the same page." Hermione began. "Then, Tonks you can send us a signal that you've spoken and we'll all meet up with you two and tell him about the pack idea."

"Sounds perfect. And I think we should do it as soon as possible." Tonks said. "I planned on going to check on him tonight or tomorrow, I can talk to him then and then we can come here if that's okay."

Hermione nodded.

xXx

"How did he take it?" Hermione asked, pulling Tonks out of earshot of the rest of the group.

"At first he was little panic-y but that was my fault, I didn't really start out very well."

"And now?"

"Now, he seems… relieved. Like a weight's off his shoulders." Tonks smiled looking out at Remus where he was sitting in the living room laughing with his closest friends.

"Good. let's see how well he takes the rest of what we have to tell him." she smiled as Tonks laughed.

Two hours later, after they'd all put their two cents in on the issue at hand and Remus had gainfully held back tears. Hermione introduced them to the wonders of home entertainment, setting a movie up on the television before cuddling up to Sirius on one of the recliners.

And as Remus laid there with Tonks at his side, his arms around her and her's around him he looked around the room at his friends, his family, his pack and realized that he'd never imagined his life would turn out like this. He'd believed early on that he would spend his life on the outer fringes, alone and penniless and longing for happiness not usually afforded to people like him. And yet here he was, surrounded by the people he never thought he'd be lucky enough to know.

His only wish in that moment was simply this;

" _Please, let me keep them forever."_


End file.
